Driver assessment day

[Ian69]

Hi,
I’ve been thinking about paying to take the driver assessment test ( Valid for 5 years) if someone could answer my questions I’d be really grateful.

1 would it be a big advantage?
2 how much roughly do they cost?
3 how many official assessment centres are there?
4 do they differ in difficulty? And do some help you with prep more than others?
5 did anyone use “how to become” (some prices around 1K) and if so was it advantageous?
Any help whatsoever greatly appreciated
Ian.

 

[skyhigh]

1 would it be a big advantage?

Not really

4 do they differ in difficulty?

They should all be standard (although some differences between standard/enhanced and TOCs)

( Valid for 5 years)

Depends on the train operator. Some may only treat them as valid for as little as 2 or 3 years.

Personally I wouldn't say it's worth it but I know others have different opinions from previous threads.

 

[AverageJoe]

From what I can tell reading through these forums, one of the hardest parts is just getting past the initial application and being noticed.

There are some one here with enhanced passes already that didn’t get past the application stages with many TOC’s.

It seems to be one of those situations that when you get passed the application you need to make it count and go all the way.

That’s just my observation anyway.

 

[ALPAL]

Hi,
I’ve been thinking about paying to take the driver assessment test ( Valid for 5 years) if someone could answer my questions I’d be really grateful.

1 would it be a big advantage?
2 how much roughly do they cost?
3 how many official assessment centres are there?
4 do they differ in difficulty? And do some help you with prep more than others?
5 did anyone use “how to become” (some prices around 1K) and if so was it advantageous?
Any help whatsoever greatly appreciated
Ian.

If you’re confident you can pass the DMI and initial interviews to get past the barrier of entry then it’d be quite useful. LNER recently stated on their trainee driver job ad if you had valid passes (to their enhanced standard) you won’t have to sit then again. This would have been quite useful as from job ads going out to start date was quite short so being able to skip assessments would have got you the job if you passed the DMI and other entry steps. Bare in mind some say the DMI is the hardest part and you’ll have to sit that with any company you apply to join regardless of prior assessment centre success.

How to become stuff is awful, I looked into it but the tests were nothing like the real ones, just slightly similar. You’d think for that kind of money you’d be getting a great assist, but in reality you’re getting the equivalent of the Nintendo DS game BrainTraining.

 

[AverageJoe]

If you’re confident you can pass the DMI and initial interviews to get past the barrier of entry then it’d be quite useful. LNER recently stated on their trainee driver job ad if you had valid passes (to their enhanced standard) you won’t have to sit then again. This would have been quite useful as from job ads going out to start date was quite short so being able to skip assessments would have got you the job if you passed the DMI and other entry steps. Bare in mind some say the DMI is the hardest part and you’ll have to sit that with any company you apply to join regardless of prior assessment centre success.

How to become stuff is awful, I looked into it but the tests were nothing like the real ones, just slightly similar. You’d think for that kind of money you’d be getting a great assist, but in reality you’re getting the equivalent of the Nintendo DS game BrainTraining.

But why not just sit the assessments for free? If you are going to be invited to the DMI that would also mean you would of been invited to the assessments at the expense of the TOC.

It would appear having enhanced passes doesn’t mean you will get an invite to interview any more than someone who just went through the process from scratch.

It seems a lottery that you get passed the initial application.

It could just be a costly waste of money, unless if you pay for it yourself it doesn’t cost you a life if you fail, in that case it might be worth it.

 

[ALPAL]

But why not just sit the assessments for free? If you are going to be invited to the DMI that would also mean you would of been invited to the assessments at the expense of the TOC.

It would appear having enhanced passes doesn’t mean you will get an invite to interview any more than someone who just went through the process from scratch.

It seems a lottery that you get passed the initial application.

It could just be a costly waste of money, unless if you pay for it yourself it doesn’t cost you a life if you fail, in that case it might be worth it.

I agree on the initial application lottery, some TOC/FOCs it really does seem a lottery - some others do seem to hand approve and reject applicants leading to a very small chance of a human maybe seeing you’ve already passed the assessments, how you’d tell them that on the application I don’t know.

However I do know of TOCs hiring up until the last minute for a confirmed course date starting less than a month away. The only people who will feasibly jump through all the hoops at that stage are those who don’t need to sit assessments so all they need is a DMI and medical if they pass the application sift. I know this is rare on the railway but if someone is commited and desperate to join that may have been the best chance they’d ever have, rather than potentially ending up in endless talent pools etc.

The TOC above does the DMI before assessments invite so getting a DMI doesn’t always mean you’re going to get to the assessment stage, it’d be a great time to mention you have an OPC pass at the end of the interview though. As if you’re successful at DMI they’ll be thinking you’re an easy candidate from here on out (hopefully). I do know most don’t do the DMI beforehand though.

Also I remember reading the two lives rule applies just the same to those sitting the assessments privately.

 

[wacca78]

Possibly. It is all down to the tocs/focs application process. If it’s one where a CV is required with an application form then it could be an advantage to state that you’ve passed the OPC assessments. Again different companies have different requirements on the OPC with wanting enhanced results on some stages, so you would need to pass them all to enhanced to be sure you fit certain requirements with certain TOCS.

A lot of places make you do online tests before they even look at your application. You’d have pass those regardless whether you have enhanced passes or not. Also you’re hiring someone for day. I can’t see it being cheap. I don’t know the cost but I’d be surprised if it’s below £300. I’d imagine you’d do the tests at the OPC premises.

So basically it could be an advantage but there’s a lot of other stuff to consider too. Don’t forget some places won’t accept applications from over an hour travelling distance away regardless if you intend to relocate. Some will. Every TOC/FOC is different. As some have said to pass the initial application you’d be invited anyway to complete the assessments and would be free. I personally wouldn’t bother paying but it’s totally your call.

 

[skyhigh]

Also I remember reading the two lives rule applies just the same to those sitting the assessments privately.

It does.

Again different companies have different requirements on the OPC with wanting enhanced results on some stages, so you would need to pass them all to enhanced to be sure you fit certain requirements with certain TOCS.

It's more nuanced than that. Different TOCs have different pass levels even within enhanced - so you might pass everything to enhanced level, but still not have passed for a certain TOC.

 

[NorthernTech]

Railway Competence Group were doing private tests, not sure if they still are, but are based now in Manchester. When I last looked it was around £500/£550 for the full test suite done in a day.

 

[Frankie4763]

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